Lanka's concern over new airstrip in Wanni 'unfounded': LTTE Colombo, Mar 9 (UNI) London-based chief negotiator and political advisor of the Tamil Tiger rebels, Anton Balasingham told the Norwegian facilitator at a meeting today in London that concern raised by the Sri Lankan government over a new airstrip of the LTTE in the rebel-held Wanni region was unfounded. Mr Balasingham made these remarks at a two-hour long meeting with a top Norwegian peace envoy, Erik Solheim at his residence today after the Norwegian delegation registered Sri Lankan government's concern over the existence of the much-publicised new airstrip of the LTTE in the Wanni district. The Tamilnet website, quoting Mr Balasingham, reported today that he had assured Mr Solheim that the government's concern was unfounded and had pointed out that the airstrip had been in existence even before the February 2002 ceasefire. The meeting has also focused on the proposed joint mechanism between the government and the LTTE for the urgent disbursement of the post-tsunami aid resources from the international donor community. ''Mr Solheim was optimistic that a joint mechanism for aid distribution could be established soon,'' Mr Balasingham has been quoted as saying. Mr Solheim's meeting with the LTTE chief negotiator has come barely a week after he toured Sri Lanka and held discussions with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and other government leaders on the need to establish a working arrangement with the LTTE for the tsunami affected people in the North-East. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has also reportedly informed US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice about the LTTE airstrip and the alleged acquisition of light aircraft, saying that it was a threat not only to the national security, but also to the international security. http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=95194 ................................................................... SLMM, LTTE find 'murdered Muslims' alive [TamilNet, March 10, 2005 07:42 GMT] Tension in Oddamavadi, 34 kilometres north of Batticaloa, Thursday morning over reports that three men who had gone from the Muslim town to chop firewood in the jungles two days ago were found murdered was resolved after Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Liberation Tigers who searched for their bodies found them staying in a village in the interior to ply their trade. Tension ran high in Oddamavadi, which shut down in protest against the murder of an auto rickshaw driver Wednesday, when Sri Lanka Police in Valaichenai told media Thursday morning that the three men were found murdered by the LTTE in the jungle near Omadiyamadhu, a village on the Batticaloa-Polannaruwa border. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials from Batticaloa went to the general area of Omadiyamadhu upon hearing the report. The jungles east of the village are controlled by the Liberation Tigers. Hence the SLMM sought the LTTE's assistance to search the area for the bodies of the Muslims. Later in the in the morning they found the three men in an interior village where the wood cutters had stayed back to get fi ewood in the surrounding forests, according to the head of the truce monitors in Batticaloa, Mr. Steen Joergensen. "It is clear from this incident that the Sri Lankan armed forces are trying to instigate the Muslims against us by spreading such malicious reports", said an LTTE official in Batticaloa. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14434 .................................................................... CFA cannot survive in 'No war No Talks' climate- Elilan [TamilNet, March 10, 2005 04:27 GMT] "It is meaningless to observe a ceasefire in the current situation where there is no peace and no peace talks. The deteriorating security climate in the east, and the chaotic poltical situation plagued by disunity within the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the South that shows no signs of improving, can only hasten Tamils march towards the final solution," said Mr.S.Elilan in his address at the International Women's Day celebrations held Tuesday evening at Trincomalee Cultural hall, sources said. At the commencement of the meeting, mother of a martyr lit the flame of sacrifice to the photograph of first women fighter died in the Tamil freedom struggle, Lt.Malathi and mother of another martyr garlanded the photograph, sources said. Mr.Kanagasabai Thevakadachcham, President of the Trincomalee District Affected Students Fund lit the common flame of sacrifice. Mr.Elilan further said President Chandrika Kumaratunge and her Marxist partner the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are playing a political drama to drag the issue of finding a political solution to the Tamil question. "We cannot any longer allow the chauvinist forces to decide the fate of Tamils. We are very firm in our stand. We have a clear vision in our next step towards our freedom struggle," said Mr.Elilan. The JVP is trying to set up illegal Sinhala settlements in our traditional homeland. In the name tsunami victims, the JVP leaders are trying to settle Sinhalese from the south of the country in Trincomalee raising the spectre of State aided colonization of the early 1950s. Tamil residents of the east port town courageously thwarted JVP's attempt, said Mr.Elilan. Ms Kaaronja and several others also spoke. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14433 ..................................................................... Another shot in Batticaloa [TamilNet, March 10, 2005 03:30 GMT] A man was shot and grievously injured in Batticaloa town Wednesday night around 8.30. Police in the eastern town said the person, a bar owner, appears to be a victim of the current "shadow war" that has claimed many lives in the troubled district. He was rushed to Batticaloa Hospital. Gunmen who went in an autorickshaw had called Mr. Christy Gnanasothy Sellapillai, 36, and shot him near his home at Selvanayagam Road in Urani, a suburb of Batticaloa. The gunmen got away, Police said. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14432 ..................................................................... Top LTTE team leaves for Europe to drum up assistance Colombo, Mar 10 (UNI) A top LTTE delegation led by its political wing head S P Thamilselvan left for European countries early this morning via Katunayake International Airport to drum up financial assistance and other support for the post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction in the war-ravaged North-East. ''Our meetings will focus on delivering aid to tsunami-affected people in north-east directly and efficiently,'' the Tamilnet website has quoted LTTE's peace secretariat head S Puleedevan, who is also a member in the delegation, as saying before his departure to Europe. According to Mr Puleedevan, the delegation would travel to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, and Switzerland and also visit the European Union headquarters in Brussels. Other members in the LTTE delegation include, Mr B Nadesan, head of the LTTE police service and Ms P Geetha, deputy head of LTTE's women's political division. The LTTE delegation is scheduled to meet Norway's Foreign Minister and its international development minister on March 11. The LTTE delegation has undertaken this trip to Europe amid fresh reports that the rebels have agreed to a proposal submitted by the Norwegian facilitators in consultation with the government of Sri Lanka for the establishment of a joint mechanism for the immediate and humanitarian aid disbursement of outpouring international post-tsunami aid. The LTTE has been accusing the government of not providing relief and reconstruction assistance for the people in the worst-hit North-East region, a charge that was repeatedly denied by the Sri Lankan government. http://www.deepikaglobal.com/latestnews.asp?ncode=26221 ..................................................................... Seven soldiers to appear in Jaffna court [TamilNet, March 09, 2005 20:55 GMT] Ms Srinithi Nanthasekaran, Jaffna Additional Magistrate, Wednesday ordered the Jaffna Police to produce on March 14 all seven soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who were on duty at Parameswara Junction on Friday where Mr Kathirgamu (65) was shot dead during a public protest against the death of school student Ms Nagendran Thulashika, legal sources said. Ms Nanthasekaran further ordered that the firearms recovered from the seven soldiers by the Police on her instruction on Friday, should be kept in the custody of the court, legal sources said. Currently the firearms are in the custody of the Jaffna Police. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14431 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 The Slow Download to War By Dayan Jayatilleka [From: Asian Tribune (Bangkok)] Like a slow download, we are inching to war. There already is a small war on the side, a miniâcivil war. It's the title fight: the Sun God vs. The Colonel. It is decidedly not in the interest of the Sri Lankan state to tilt against Karuna, eliminating his challenge to Prabhakaran, nor is it in its interest that the conflict spiral out of control and spill-over into the South. But can it be contained at the level of a low-intensity war of attrition? To use an old metaphor of Fidel (made popular by Regis Debray), the East could be `the small motor that sets in motion the large motor' of renewed high intensity war in the island as a whole. That province once identified by Mervyn de Silva in the Lanka Guardian as Sri Lanka's Bosnia, contains all our contradictions: those between the State and the Tigers, the Sinhalese and the Tamils, the Tamils and the Muslims, the Sinhalese and the Muslims, the Eastern Tamils and the Northern Tamils, the Sun God and the Colonel. The recent weeks saw each contradiction stir awake. Prabhakaran cannot resolve his internal i.e. interregional contradictions so he will externalise them, export them into the interethnic domain. Unable to crush Karuna militarily, he will seek to drown him politically in a tsunami of renewed Tamil nationalism that will arise if a `dirty war' is detonated in the East. The reawakening of contending communal passions in that region provides him with the opportunity. The massacre of six villagers in Welikanda, in the Polonnaruwa area just across the Eastern border, served two purposes: a punitive/deterrent raid on the early Sharon model, on civilians suspected of sympathy for the Karuna cause; a televised rekindling of the memory of massacres and therefore of ethnic fervour. Colombo's inability to sustain the broad international coalition that arose in the tsunami's aftermath, and indeed the new contradictions that are arising between the South and the world community over tsunami relief â contradictions powered by the JVP's xenophobic backlash â are shaping the chance for Prabhakaran to go to war even in the face of a global climate of opinion that would be opposed or unsympathetic. The world hopes that Sri Lanka is willing to use this last best chance for peace, and if this country appears unwilling to do so, sheer disgust will make the world turn aside, giving a chance for the Tiger to pounce. Prabhakaran will also be tempted to go to war precisely because no one thinks he can. It is an almost perfect if paradoxical combination of circumstances: no one thinks he can, therefore no one thinks he will, thereby endowing him with the element of surprise, while no one out there in the world at large will really be surprised or blame him if he does because the Sinhalese polity has incurred their dismay by behaving as if we have learnt nothing. What was the change in the international situation following the December tsunami? Was there one, or was it a hallucination? The most precise identification of the new, came from Granma, the official paper of the Cuban communists, a sharp, polemical yet literate and sophisticated critic of US and western strategic policy: "The constitution of an humanitarian coalition at global level to respond to the recent terrible tsunami disaster, with a certain degree of internationalization of US diplomacy, presumably to come into play at a later date as a strategic beachhead in the Pacific and Indonesiaâ" (Granma, Jan 30th, p 13). Had we been in the Islamic world or in Latin America, I would have seen this as a threat, but located as we are in multipolar Asia, and on India's doorstep, we have little to fear from the US. We face the constant threat of a high intensity war of aggression by the Tigers. The Tamil Nadu factor will always make India pause before committing itself militarily and limit itself even when it extends such support. Thus we shall always face a deficit of strategic support and have much to gain by leveraging the new international phenomena as a way of bridging it. Southern society is caught between two contending impulses. Do we welcome and embrace the new opening to the world? Or do we welcome only the new domestic trends such as the surge in JVP influence through the Sahana Seva Balakaaya, while neutralising the external factors, resisting the changes in the equation between us and the world? Do we keep on behaving as before, when it's the day after? That depends on who we are, on who we think we are, and who we want to be. What is our idea of Sri Lanka and its future? What do we wish for our country? The answer we give in turn reveals, perhaps defines who each of us are. The JVP is setting the stage for Prabhakaran's war. For the second time in six months, Trincomalee almost erupted because of the actions of the JVP parliamentarian of that conflicted area. During the ceasefire, the regional contradictions among the Tigers surfaced in the form of the Karuna rebellion, but the moment the SinhalaâTamil contradiction resurfaces, the intra-Tiger conflict becomes less important to the Tamil citizens of the area, who then feel as Tamils, as Eastern Tamilsnot as Eastern Tamils. At that moment there are no thoughts for Karuna the homeboy, but of Prabhakaran, the Sun God of all Tamils. Last December the LTTE had almost managed to isolate the Sri Lankan state from the world community, thanks to the actions of the JVP and JHU. That was part of setting the stage for war. The situation was dramatically reversed by the tsunami. The JVP's renewed xenophobia, its political offensive and the ascendancy of its discourse within government and state (helped greatly by its grip on the state media), have put in reverse the process of global solidarity and is succeeding in recreating the rift between us and the world. We are almost back to the pre-December 26th situation. Mere weeks after targeting the UN Secy Gen Kofi Annan, the JVP has whipped up lynch-mob hysteria against the World Bank representative. This is a Milosevic mindset that led to the ruin of Yugoslavia and the Serb majority community. If the international community and Sri Lanka draw away from each other like ships that pass in the night, the cost to Prabhakaran of war decreases, while our vulnerability and the danger of war increases. Prabhakaran runs one major risk though: No one knows the Sun God like the Colonel. Karuna is trying to bait him into war, hoping that India will be unable to permit an LTTE win and will come into the fray. By going to war, Prabhakaran may find that he has triggered the Tiger trap. It would be a deliciously fitting finale if Prabhakaran, the man who ordered Nehru's grandson murdered by an explosion, made the sudden acquaintance of an Indian Prithvi missile. - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13665 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 Sharpening tensions in Sri Lankan government over talks with LTTE By K. Ratnayake â World Socialist Web Site Attempts by Sri Lanka's president Chandrika Kumaratunga to resume peace talks and set up a joint body with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for tsunami relief has deepened already sharp tensions in the ruling coalition. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)âthe second largest party in the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA)âhas warned Kumaratunga that it will quit from the alliance if such a body is established or talks with the LTTE begin on setting up an interim administration in the North and East. Since the UPFA came to power last April, the JVP has repeatedly threatened to quit the government over the restarting of peace talks with the LTTE. The JVP, which espouses the most extreme forms of anti-Tamil chauvinism, is hostile to any, even limited, concessions to the LTTE. In the wake of the tsunami, the JVP has opposed any direct aid, or visits by international officials, to LTTE-controlled areas, claiming it would amount to de facto recognition. The December 26 tsunami killed more than 30,000 people in Sri Lanka and displaced another half a million. Nearly three quarters of the destruction took place in the North and East of the islandâregions that have already been ravaged by two decades of civil war. Some of the worst affected areas are under the control of the LTTE, which has insisted that any international relief aid be channelled through its Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO). Kumaratunga, who like the JVP opposed any aid to the TRO, has had to do an about-face. While the major powersâthe US, Japan and Europeâhave not provided funds directly to the LTTE, they have insisted that the government establish a "joint mechanism" with the LTTE to provide relief to LTTE-controlled areas. The move is part of a broader plan to use the tsunami crisis to restart peace talks, which were broken off in April 2003. Facing a mounting financial crisis, Kumaratunga had little alternative but to agree. Her government has been unable to drawn on the $US4.5 billion aid pledged at a donor conference in Tokyo in 2003 because it is tied to resuming the so-called peace process. Another $1.8 billion in tsunami reconstruction aid has been pledged but most of this money will not be forthcoming if a "joint mechanism" is not worked out. Last week, Treasury Secretary P. B. Jayasundara told a business conference that the government had so far received only 4 percent or $75 million of the tsunami aid promised. Even before the disaster, the UPFA government was facing growing hostility over its failure to carry out its election promises. Now it confronts simmering resentment over the lack of adequate emergency relief and reconstruction assistance for hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims. In a statement on February 22 to mark the third anniversary of the ceasefire, the government declared that it was working toward reconvening peace talks with the LTTE. The government was holding discussions "with the LTTE on the establishment of an interim authority to meet the humanitarian needs of the people," the statement reported, and would "proceed thereafter to negotiating a final settlement of ethnic conflict". While carefully worded, the statement made a concession to the LTTE's demand for the establishment of an interim administration as the basis for resuming negotiations. The JVP immediately denounced the declaration. Its parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa told parliament on February 24 that if the government took such a step, the JVP would "discontinue to be a party to the government". He declared that establishment of a joint body with the LTTE was tantamount to giving "statehood" to that organisation. In comments to Reuters on March 2, JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe reiterated that the party would "break with the government if (it) pushes for a joint mechanism with the LTTE for distributing tsunami aid or interim self-rule". While the JVP has threatened to quit the government before, these latest warnings have a desperate ring to them. The JVP, which has often postured as a "left" and even "socialist" party, is now in office for the first time and confronts mounting anger over broken promises, rising prices and the lack of tsunami relief. Increasingly, its appeals for people to shelve their demands during the tsunami crisis are falling on deaf ears. So the JVP demagogues are stirring up communal sentiment in a bid to divert and divide the opposition. In the eastern port of Trincomalee last week, JVP MP Jayantha Wijesekera provocatively attempted to start building houses for Sinhala tsunami victims at what is known as McKeyzer Stadiumâa large open area within the town. In doing so, Wijesekera deliberately ignored the decision of a parliamentary committee to build housing elsewhere, as well as Tamil sensitivity to the encroachment of Sinhala settlements. The police and military finally forced the JVP to withdraw after protests and the erection of roadblocks by local Tamils. The JVP's actions compound an extremely tense situation in the East after a series of killings involving the LTTE and a breakaway group headed by V. Muralitharan, also known as Karuna. The murder of the LTTE's top eastern political leader E. Kaushalyan on February 7 has been followed by an attack on Kuveni, the eastern leader of the LTTE's women's wing, on February 28. She was seriously injured along with two other LTTE cadres. The LTTE has accused the Sri Lankan armed forces of being behind the attacks. While the security forces deny any involvement, their previous contacts with, and sympathy for, the Karuna faction are no secret. Following the attack on Kuveni, Special Task Force head Nimal Lewke noted approvingly that "the Karuna group has become a strong opposition to the LTTE enjoying a great deal of sympathy and support within the Tamil community in the area... and has become a force to reckon with." The LTTE has responded in kind. On February 22, the LTTE shot a soldier dead and wounded another near the Kilali army camp on the Jaffna peninsula, claiming they had intruded in a no-go zone. Ten people have died in shootouts between the LTTE and the Karuna faction in the past few days. On Saturday night, six civiliansâfour Muslims, a Tamil and a Sinhaleseâdied in a clash at Konakulaweli near the border of the eastern and north central province. The LTTE blamed the Karuna group, while the military accused the LTTE. Whether the military is directly involved in encouraging these conflicts is not clear. But there is no doubt that elements of the military hierarchy view the tsunami disaster as an ideal opportunity to go on the offensive against the LTTE. Reflecting these sentiments, the JVP and other Sinhala extremist outfits have hinted that the LTTE's weakened state means that the government should make no concessions on an interim administration or any other LTTE demand. Kumaratunga is walking a fine line. While she is under pressure from business and the major powers to recommence talks with the LTTE, the president and her Sri Lanka Freedom Party are just as mired in Sinhala chauvinism as the JVP and are thus sensitive to its criticisms. Moreover, without the JVP's 39 MPs, the fragile ruling coalition of nine parties would lose its parliamentary majority and could disintegrate. While Kumaratunga pulled out of a meeting with the JVP scheduled for February 28, she met with other ministers and issued a statement designed to appease the JVP. It ruled out talks on an interim administration except in the context of a negotiated "final solution"âa formulation that effectively rejects the LTTE's demand. The JVP declared itself satisfied with the statement but still adamantly opposes any "joint mechanism" for the provision of tsunami relief. In reality, nothing is resolved. If Kumaratunga is to restart talks, she has to make some concessions to the LTTE. But if she does so, she risks a walkout by the JVP and the collapse of the government. At the same time, the fomenting of communal conflict and the murders in the East are creating intense tensions that threaten to throw the country back to war. A recent editorial in the Daily Mirror reflected the exasperation in ruling circles. "It is increasingly becoming clear to them (people) that they are destined to continue in the present state of confusion, conflict and tension while their burning problems get further complicated and aggravated... The need of the hour ... is for all parties to behave like adults and face the reality. The future of the country will, otherwise, be bleak." The Daily Mirror, however, had no advice as to how to deal with these burning problems. Having deliberately cultivated communal hostilities since independence in 1948 and waged a bloody war for two decades, the ruling class as a whole has created a quagmire for which it has no solutions. - World Socialist Web Site - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_article.php?id=2212 ..................................................................... Lankan Marxists want WB official out of country COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's main Marxist party Wednesday demanded the expulsion of the World Bank's country director after accusing him of giving official recognition to Tamil Tiger guerrillas. The People's Liberation Front, or the JVP, said the official, Peter Harrold, had extended de facto recognition to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when he said in an interview the World Bank recognised that the guerrillas were in control of parts of the country. The JVP, which is the junior partner in President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government, launched a scathing attack on Harrold over the interview with a local weekly on the need for the government and rebels who control parts of the island's embattled northeast to work closely together on tsunami relief. "If he does not withdraw his remarks, the World Bank authorities must take steps to remove him," the JVP's Wimal Weerawansa said in parliament.Harrold, responding to the JVP attack, said there had been a "misleading portrayal" of the World Bank's position in a previous JVP statement and subsequent media reports. afp http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-3-2005_pg4_23 ...................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 Peter Harold must go home - PNM of Sri Lanka By Sunil C. Perera â Reporting from Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo, 10 March, (Asiantribune.com): The Patriotic National Movement of Sri Lanka (PNM) led by the ex-leading member of the united national party Rev, Elle Gunawansa, Present Deputy Minister and former captain Sri Lanka Cricket Arjuna Ranatunga and the leading JVP parliamentarians said that Sri Lanka's resident Representative of World Bank Peter Harold must go home. The Patriotic National Movement has begun their island wide poster campaign and saying that Harold has overstepped his duties. He does not care for the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, said the movement through their posters. However the Resident Representative has denied the allegations leveled against him. Meanwhile the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front) issuing a press release said that Harold should withdraw his statement belittling the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.The government should take actions to deport him from Sri Lanka, the JVP said. Harold earlier issued a statement to a newspaper indicating that six billion rupees of post-tsunami aid was for the rehabilitation of the areas held by the LTTE. - Asain Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13662 .................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 World Bank representative in Sri Lanka, should be recalled Melbourne, 10 March, (Asiantribune.com): Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR) â a watchdog organization based in Melbourne, Australia which use to voice its serious concern for peace, harmony, stability and integrity of Sri Lanka has in a statement called for the immediate recall of Peter Harrold, World Bank Representative in Sri Lank. Ranjit Soysa, the spokesperson of SPUR in a statement released to the press confirmed the fact that the World Bank office in Sri Lanka is heavily aligned to the separatist terrorist organization, - LTTE in Sri Lanka, and Peter Harrold has completely stepped outside his area of responsibility by stating that the LTTE is a stake-holder for funds released to Sri Lanka. In the statement released by Ranjit Soysa said, "We like to pose two simple questions to Peter Harrold of the World Bank." The questions posed by SPUR asked the World Bank Representative in Colombo as follows : 1. In your lending portfolio do you have clients who are other than nation states? 2 How do you account for funds released to the so called stake-holders who are not elected and who rule by the gun? Ranjith Soysa in his statement further asked: "When the UN introduced sanctions to the Iraqi government resulting in human misery, did the WB consider release of fund even though Saddam's Baath party was a clear stakeholder? Or is it a fact that the World Bank representatives use a different set of measurements when dealing with countries like Sri Lanka?" "Harrold by his statement has lead the World Bank to violate Security Council Resolutions 1267 (1998) of 15 Oct, 1373 (2001) of 28 Sept 2001 and A666 (2004) of Oct 2004 relating to terrorism. Put simply, the World Bank as an institution had been sold by Mr. Harrold to the LTTE, the world's most ruthless terrorist organization. Simultaneously, he has completely ignored the sovereignty of Sri Lanka," alleges the statement issued by the Australian based SPUR. Ranjit Soysa castigates that "If the World Bank stands by nation states and the UN resolutions, the only option left in Sri Lanka is for Harold to be withdrawn. The credibility of the world bank in the eyes of the Sri Lankan will hinge on how the it handles the misconduct of Harrold." In conclusion the SPUR's statement underlined the message: "Peter Harrold, we simply don't need you to act as a Viceroy of Sri Lanka. You have violated the terms of the International Development Association (Act 7 of 1961) Price of our sovereignty is not US $ 4.5 billion, whether in grants or loans!" - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13661 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 LTTE must Renounce Violence and stop recruiting child soldiers - EU's Commissioner Colombo, 10 March, (Asiantribune.com): The European Union's Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero pointed out with grave concern that the recent outbreak of violent incidents in Sri Lanka has marred the Ceasefire. "Both parties need to do all in their power to halt such actions and bring all culprits, no matter what their affiliation, to justice", EU's Commissioner for External Relations emphasized At a press conference held in Colombo on Tuesday, EU's Commissioner for External Relations added that the country has experienced real benefits since the Ceasefire: these must not be lost. She further stress that the international community wanted Sri Lanka to remain as a single state. She added that the Sri Lanka which remains as a single state is the "one that gives self-determination to the Tamils, through a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka" She lamented, "I made clear my readiness to meet the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership, but for logistical reasons this has not been possible on this occasion." But the EU Commissioner failed to explain the so called `logistical reasons' behind LTTE canceling the meeting at the last minute. Benita Ferrero-Walddner said "The messages I would have passed, are the following," in case she would have met the LTTE leadership as planned. The EU Commissioner External Relations clearly told, "The LTTE must: * renounce violence; * respect the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002; * restate their commitment to the principles stated in Oslo Declaration of December 2002 to find a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka; * stop recruitment of child soldiers; * give breathing space in the North and East to political parties and people who have a differing opinion. Excerpts of the press conference is given below : It is good to be back in Sri Lanka! I have a long association with the country: in my former job as Austrian Foreign Minister, I helped facilitate a dialogue with civil society actors here on the peace process. During this trip I have had the opportunity to meet senior members of your government, and other parties to the peace process. I have seen at first hand the terrible devastation caused by the tsunami last December, and I have been able to finalise plans for a Commission reconstruction package worth â100 million. It has been an important visit â and, I hope the results of this trip will bring real benefits for the citizens of this country. Before I talk to you about the trip, in detail, some good news I regard the EU's relationship with Sri Lanka as an important one, for us, and for you. Why important? Many reasons, but to take just two examples: Thousands of people of Sri Lankan origin live in Europe and thousands of Europeans enjoy every year visiting your beautiful country; one quarter of Sri Lanka's exports go to the EU, and half your imports come from us. I think we need to take our contact with you up a gear, and that is why I am proposing to upgrade the European Commission representation in Colombo to a full Delegation. This is not just a diplomatic nicety: it will really help us build stronger ties with Sri Lanka. One prime focus of my visit has been the tsunami â and my determination to demonstrate that Europe will not forget Sri Lanka The European Union (taking together the EU Member States and our contribution from the Union's own joint budget) is the biggest donor in the aftermath of the Tsunami â with pledges worth â1.5 billion. The European Commission was very quick to react to the disaster. Our first humanitarian aid was on its way on the very day the tsunami struck. ECHO, our Humanitarian Office, is deploying â 31 million in Sri Lanka alone. Today I have travelled to some of the worst affected areas. What I have seen today is shocking, devastating â certainly unforgettable. I promise you, we will still be here to help rebuild the country long after the foreign TV crews have left, and no matter what new disasters may strike in other parts of the world On top of 100 million euro in humanitarian aid, the European Commission is programming a â350 million package of reconstruction aid for the region. I have proposed to allocate some â100 million of this to Sri Lanka. During this trip I have been discussing with the government how we can best put that money to use. Together we have discussed priorities, and I can announce to you today what this package will look like. We will have a first instalment of around â4 million available in the coming months, to help get people back to work, and help reconstruction efforts get going by providing detailed satellite imagery of the coastline before and after the tsunami. These images will provide information essential for planning and reconstruction work and for future risk assessments. The larger second instalment of EC support will come on stream after the summer. I have now agreed with your government the broad focus of these funds: i. Around â 56 million again to help restart livelihoods (largely channelled through the Reconstruction Trust Fund) ii. Around â 40 million towards the rebuilding of the Matara-Batticaloa road. It is essential that aid is able to flow to those who need it most, wherever they are in the country. Our aid is blind to political divisions and ethnic or religious differences. The important thing is that Sri Lankans who have lost everything are given the help they so badly need. As I have already said to you, my central concern is that aid reaches those in greatest need. It is important that the distribution of aid is based on where it will be of most use, and not on any political consideration. I understand that negotiations are taking place to find a way to do this, and I hope that those talks will have a successful outcome. Such arrangements will be an important element in ensuring aid money reaches all those areas that need it. Without such a mechanism, it will be difficult to ensure that international aid flows as wish we it to do, that is to say, fairly. I urge all the parties of the government coalition, the opposition, as well as the LTTE to support work for such a mechanism. This is too important to risk failure. And, it needs to be done quickly. The International Community is counting on all parties to show the wisdom, and vision, and leadership, to bring the current negotiations to a successful conclusion. But of course, the other main focus of my trip was because the European Union the peace process. We in Europe have a lot of experience of trying to rebuild peace after years, you could say, centuries of conflict. Making peace takes patience, courage, and willingness on both sides to compromise. We support all those who are working sincerely to find a political solution. Violence will never provide the answers, nor lead to a better life for the people of this island. I asked the Government and representatives of other political parties I met to take a decisive step in favour of peace. It is time for those in positions of leadership to "go the extra mile". These contacts were in my role as part of the Co-chair structure put in place after the Tokyo Conference, and designed to support to Norway's excellent work. The EU is 100% behind the work of the Norwegian Facilitator. It is important that his work is respected and supported by all parties. Recent violent incidents have marred the Ceasefire. Both parties need to do all in their power to halt such actions and bring all culprits, no matter what their affiliation, to justice. The country has experienced real benefits since the Ceasefire: these must not be lost. It is crucial that no one underestimates the clear wish of the international Community to see an outcome that respects Sri Lanka's integrity as a single state. That is, a one that gives self-determination to the Tamils, through a federal solution within a united Sri Lanka We are with you for the long haul, but the Sri Lanka we want to support will be a united Sri Lanka that chooses peace and puts the long term well-being of its people above all other considerations. - Asian Tribune - SLDF Newswire - Thanks. http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13657 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 Jeyadevan Released by Tamil Tigers. [From: Asian Tribune (Bangkok)] Colombo, 10 March, (Asiantribune.com): Rajasingham Jeyadevan, a British resident, who was held captive by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, since 31 December 2004, was released yesterday at 2.30 PM in Vanni, according to a reliable source. "Asian Tribune" exposed this illegal confinement and torture on 09 March exclusively. It is learnt that the LTTE felt the pressure of the exposure by "Asian Tribune" and released Jeyadevan. However, LTTE has failed to reveal as to why Jeyadevan was arrested, detained and held incommunicado in Vanni, a sporadic jungle terrain located in the north of Sri Lanka, the stronghold of the separatist Tamil Tigers. It is learnt that Jeyadevan's wife Manjula and three children are relieved at the news of the release of Jeyadevan, which is held highly secretive by the family. In the meantime a relative of Jeydevan, resident in London, who did not wants to be named, told "Asian Tribune" that the international community and the Sri Lanka Government must come forward to take appropriate action against the brutal violation of Jeyadevan's human rights by the Tamil Tigers. He added, "This is the plight of all the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Tamil Diasporas living all over and just not that of Jeydevan alone. Killing, confining incommunicado and violating the human rights of the Tamil people by threat and intimidations has gone out of control and is now a problem in the hands of the international community." However, Asian Tribune wishes to inform that the information regarding the release of Jeyadevan is yet to be confirmed by the authoritative sources. A relation of Jeyadevan in London told "Asian Tribune" that they will only believe the release of Jeyadevan by the LTTE only when he arrives in London. - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13669 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-09 Jeyadevan held incommunicado in a torture cell in Vanni: Finger pointing begins towards Anton Balasingham [From: Asian Tribune (Bangkok)] Jeyadevan, it is learnt that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is holding him incommunicado because he refused to place his signature in his capacity as the managing trustee for the transfer to LTTE, the money spinning Hindu temple in Albertan, United Kingdom - Eelam Pathieswarar Temple. Friends and relatives of 50-year-old Rajasingham Jeyadevan, a British resident, fear that he is now languishing in the torture camp of the Sri Lankan separatist Tamil Tigers in Vanni, Sri Lanka. Jeyadevan, a qualified accountant, went to Vanni with his friend Vivekenandan to offer assistance to the Tamil victims of the tsunami. Meanwhile, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been eyeing his Hindu temple in London established in 2000. The LTTE was forcing Jeyadevan to hand over the temple to them. Under pressure Vivekanandan who is one of the five trustees of the temple signed the papers and was allowed to leave for London. But Jeyadevan, the managing trustee of the temple refused to sign the papers and hand over the temple to the LTTE has gone missing. It is feared that his refusal to hand over this money-spinning temple to LTTE is the reason why the LTTE holding him incommunicado. Jayadevan, is originally from Varuththaraivilan, Tellipalai, located in the Jaffna peninsula. But he has been domiciled in England for the last 30 years. Right throughout he was a strong LTTE supporter.He was responsible for rescuing Anton and Adele Balasingham couples when they were stucked in Bangkok without valid passports and entry visas. Jayadevan along with Barry Gardiner, ruling British Labor Party MP for Brent North was responsible for the issue of a new British Passport in Singapore for Anton Balasingham, who illegally entered Thailand to leave from the Bangkok international airport to London sometime in April 1999. According to Adele Balasingham: "We continued to live an underground life in the capital trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, while we pondered a safe way out of the country to return to London. Since we have entered the country without a valid document and out of date passports it was impossible for us to run the risk of passing through the airport terminals." - page 362 "Will to Freedom." It is learnt that in Thailand, it was Jaydevan who arranged through Sivam (Krishna Sivanathan - who was an associate of Kanagasabai Sabananthan who was arrested in an apartment in Bangkok on 18 January 2005 according Jane's Intelligence Weekly) the doctoring of the passports of both, Anton and Adele Balasinghams, the arrival/departure stamps of Singapore and the arrival stamps of Thailand to leave the country. After arriving safely in London, Anton Balasingham found the growing popularity of Jayadevan and anticipated a highly qualified person of Jayadevan's caliber might be a future threat to him within the LTTE and he decided to cut him down to size. When Jayadevan and a solicitor Neminathan took necessary steps to challenge the British Government for proscribing the LTTE under the Terrorism Act of 2000 in the United Kingdom on 01 March 2001, Balasingham called Jayadevan on the telephone and shouted in filth and reported to have said in Tamil ".. you don't fuck around. A.C. Santhan (LTTE`s representative in United Kingdom) and others will take care of all those matters, you bastards simply keep quiet. " In the meantime, Jeyadevan took the Labor Party's Brent North office on lease in the year 2000 and constructed a modest Hindu temple in Alberton Eela Pathieswarar Temple â a temple for Lord Siva. The temple grew very popular and Hindus, not only from Sri Lanka but from India, South Africa , Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji and from other countries residing in London began to patronize the temple. Gradually daily collections of the temple grew by leaps and bound specially in the forms of offerings received for `Aruchchanai' â special pooja by offering flowers etc. along with recitation of the holy names of the deity. As the temple became popular and there was a daily a big collection and the LTTEers in London decided to grab the temple from Jayadevan. Jayadevan resisted all attempts of the local LTTErs in London fanned by Anton Balasingham and one of his closest relations who planned and plotted against him because of a family feud. On December 27, the day after tsunami Jayadevan and Vivekanandan flew to Vanni to talk with the LTTE leadership the plan for rehabilitation of the Tsunami affected North and East and also to settle the issue of the Temple in London. The meeting with the LTTE leadership, "Asian Tribune" learnt that it was arranged by one Ajit, an important LTTEr living in London. When Jayadevan and Vivekanandan arrived in Vanni, and to their disappointment and regret both were arrested by the LTTE and questioned and tortured. In the Vanni, Jayadevan was tortured and forced to sign the ownership transfer of the temple to the nominee of the LTTE. It is learnt that he refuse to relent. Vivekanandan, who was one of the trustees of the Temple signed the transfer papers and he was allowed to leave for London on the assurance and surety given by two of his nephews stating that he will not file complaint against LTTE and Anton Balasingham in the police in London. When Vivekanandan arrived in London five days ago, Jayadevan's father-in-law Ponnaiah Markandu went and met Vivekanandan and inquired about Jaradevan. Vivekanandan, it is learnt explained everything that happened to them in Vanni and how the Tigers tortured them. He told Markandu that Jayadevan is being held by LTTE in a torture camp in Vanni. When Markandu heard the plight of his son-in-law he had a massive heart attack and died and his funeral was held on Monday (07 March) in London. On the 07th March, an announcement of the take over of the Alberton Eela Pathieswarar Temple appeared in the Oru paper . The announcement said that the temple has been taken over by Tooting Sivayoga trust, a LTTE's front organization. This announcement was released by N.Seevaratnam, the President of the trust, who is the co-brother of Jayadevan and it was alleged that he masterminded the take over by working with LTTE and Balasingham to settle a family dispute with Jayadevan. Though the rival LTTE groups in UK are taking all possible steps for the safe release of Jayadevan from ruthless grip of the Vanni Tigers but it is understood that they have already made a complaint to the Police and Vivekanandan was summoned to the police station and inquired for more than several hours. Now one of the groups that is involved in the campaign for the release of Jayadevan is planning to file a case in London for taking against Anton Balasingham and S.Paramu Tamilselvan the head of the LTTE's political Division when they arrive in Europe for arresting and holding a British resident incommunicado - a serious crime. - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13655 .................................................................... Date : 2005-03-10 The revolt in the Hindu temples rise against the LTTE By H. L. D. Mahindapala, Melbourne [From: Asian Tribune (Bangkok)] The attempts of the LTTE to gain control of newly established Hindu temples in Western countries are tearing the Tamil communities apart. More importantly, the rising backlash against the LTTE has weakened its base abroad, managed mainly of the Jaffna Tamil professionals. These communities which rallied behind the LTTE until the mid-nineties are running away from the politics of the LTTE to prevent their temples falling into the greedy hands of LTTE. In Canada, England and Australia LTTE agents have made crude and forcible attempts to grab control of newly established Hindu kovils â all which are money-spinners. The LTTers also view these temples as influential political bases to control the Tamil community abroad. The Tamil middle-class backlash against the LTTE is felt significantly in Australia. The professional Tamil migrants have been in the forefront of establishing flourishing Hindu temples. They have established three Hindu temples in the suburbs of Carrum Downs, Basin, (near Boronia) and Sunshine. The Sri Lankan Tamils who have laid the foundations for these temples have opened their doors to Hindus from all migrant communities. The Hindus from the Indian community are the second biggest group outside the Sri Lankans. Hindus from Fiji, Malaysia etc also attend these temples. The LTTErs find these temples a rich source of collecting money under the cover of religious activities. These temples provide not only regular income but are also free from surveillance by Australian Federal agencies keeping an eye on fund raising by the banned LTTE organisation. Besides, the clout of the appointed agents of the LTTE depends on the amount of money raised for the Vanni leadership. This has made the temples the target of LTTE agents abroad. In Melbourne, for instance, Mr. Nadarasa Moorthy (46), who was a leading LTTE activist, has fallen out opposing the moves of the LTTE agents to grab control of the Carrum Downs temple â the leading Hindu Temple. Mr. Moorthy is a successful businessman who runs a Venetian blinds factory near the suburb of Dandenong. He is a symbol of the up-and-coming Tamil middle-class that resent the intrusions of the LTTE to muscle in and control their lives. Unlike the Tamils of Sri Lanka who are threatened and controlled by the LTTE those abroad are asserting their independence by refusing to bow down obediently to the dictates of the LTTE. Mr. Moorthy is powerful enough in his own right to ward off any threats from the LTTE. He is a multi-millionaire who can build up his own defences against the LTTE agents in Australia. Professionals like Dr. Indran Selevendra and his wife Mani, who have been the live wires of the Sunshine Hindu Temple, too have moved away from politics linked to the LTTE. They have prevented the LTTE or their agents to creep into the affairs of the temple. Trustees of Sri Lankan temples also have to protect the political neutrality of the temples as its devotees are drawn from non-Sri Lanka Hindu communities. Any involvement with politics can damage the image of Sri Lankan Hindu temples as Tiger dens. The resentment against LTTE control of Hindu temples was demonstrated clearly when the Hindus of all communities dropped out of a Canadian Temple taken over by the LTTE, as stated by D. B. S. Jeyaraj. Yesterday's Asian Tribune highlighted the case of Mr. Rajasingham Jeyadevan who is held incommunicado in the Vanni jungles for his refusal to sign the deeds handing over Albertan Eelam Pathieswarar Temple â a temple for Lord Siva â to the LTTE. In Australia the LTTE has been losing ground ever since Prof. Christie Eliezer died. He was awarded Prabhakaran's Mahamanthir Paddakkam for services rendered to the LTTE. His successors have not been able to wield the same kind of influence among the Tamil community. The current head of the LTTE movement in Australia is Dr. Rajan Rasiah of Melbourne. This is in keeping with the LTTE tactic of putting forward professionals as their front men to cover up their crimes against humanity. These professionals are planted to give a respectable face to the LTTE â a banned organisation in Australia, India and USA. Right now these front men are under pressure, unable to defend the inhuman atrocities committed by the LTTE particularly against Tamil children. The stocks of the LTTE have dropped consistently in recent years. For instance, when a commemoration ceremony was held in Melbourne recently for Lt. Col E. Kousalyan, the eastern political head of the LTTE shot dead by Tamil National Front, only 50-odd Tamils attended. Dr. Jay Maheswaran who took off to Vanni soon after the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement on February 22, 2002 is now back in Melbourne, keeping a low profile. Melbourne-based Thillai Jeyakumar who was the kingpin of the LTTE in Australia too has not stirred himself in a vigorous manner. It is not clear whether he is now overshadowed by Sanjayan of Sydney. All this indicate that the rift in the LTTE is widening and its earlier impact on the Tamil community has waned. The LTTE monolith is no longer solid. The new developments â from the breakaway of Col. Karuna of the east to the international pressure and the assertiveness of the Tamils abroad â indicate that the LTTE is slowly but surely losing its hegemonic grip. The revolt rising within the Tamil religious organisations is significant. Last week the young turks in the Church of South India threw out its pro-LTTE Bishop S. Jebanesan. The Hindu Tamils abroad too are rebelling against the LTTE. This should not be interpreted as a case of Tamils seeking refuge in religion. They are merely seeking refuge from the unwanted intrusions of the LTTE into their private lives. It is another blow to the LTTE concept of being "the sole representative of the Tamils". - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13667 ..................................................................... Date : 2005-03-08 LTTE must return for Talks â no more procrastination Colombo, 08 March (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga urged European Union to prevail and impress upon the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri lanka's separatist Tamil rebel outfit, the importance of returning to the table for direct talks without procrastination. The European Union's Commissioner for External Relations Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner was at President's House on Monday. The President briefed European Union's commissioner for external relations on the current moves to establish a negotiated and lasting settlement to the conflict within the framework of Oslo Declaration. The President said she was confident such negotiations could commence sooner rather than later. However she said certain contentious issues needed to be ironed out. Ms. Ferrero-Waldner expressed her commiserations to President Chandrika Kumaratunga on the recent natural disaster. She said her previous visit to Sri Lanka 20 years ago was a pleasant experience. She said the EU has allotted â 300 million to assist the countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami of which â 100 million has been set aside for Sri Lanka's humanitarian and rebuilding needs. The President thanked Ms. Ferrero-Waldner for her concern and said the EU was one of the first international bodies to come forward to assist Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. She also mentioned India, Japan and China as the three nations whose effective assistance came almost immediately after the catastrophe. Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, a former Austrian Foreign Minister said, she hopes humanitarian assistance flowing into Sri Lanka would reach the needy and that the Government would soon evolve a joint mechanism to ensure the equitable distribution of aid to all affected areas. She was optimistic that the planned joint mechanism with the LTTE to rebuild the lives of the victims in the North and East would enhance the prospects of recommencing direct negotiations and building confidence among the people concerned. President Kumaratunga said the LTTE has been co-operative in several ways in addressing the needs of the tsunami affected in that part of the country. Associated with the President were W. J. S. Karunaratne, Secretary to the President, Foreign Secretary H. M. G. S. Palihakkara and the SG of the Peace Secretariat Jayantha Dhanapala. - Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=13639 ------------------------ Yahoo! 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